First Look: KTM Moto3 Race Bike

KTM has finally given us a glimpse into its Moto3 class race bike, showing renders of the bike to journalists assembled at the company’s Hangar 7 press event. The Austrian company also officially showed its Moto3 race motor, and for those expecting to see a repurposed SX motor for the 250cc four-stroke Grand Prix racing series, abolish that thought. For the inaugural 2012 racing season for GP racing’s entry-level series, the Austrian company has started from scratch when approaching its Moto3 development.

Developing its own Moto3 chassis in house, KTM must adhere to the Moto3 class rules that state the company must make the 250cc motor available to other chassis manufacturers and teams as well, with a retail price of €12,000. As such, popular Moto2 chassis builder Kalex Engineering will be making its own Moto3 race bike, featuring the KTM single-cylinder motor.

Weighing only 25kg (55 lbs), KTM’s new Moto3 motor is certainly light, though we’ll have to wait and see on the track how potent it is, and who can build the better chassis for it. It’s expected that the Moto3 race bike will give way to a street-going production version (rumored to be in the 350cc displacement range), and if these renders give any idea of how that bike will look, we’re very excited indeed about that prospect.

Despite his best efforts, Jensen is called one of the most influential bloggers in the motorcycle industry, and sometimes consults for motorcycle companies, whether they've solicited his expertise or not.